The web is bursting at the seams with search marketing information and too much of it is completely untrue. Legal Professionals who try to do their own SEO are often unaware of which strategies should take precedence, which have some value, and which are a complete waste of effort.
Law firms that decide to retain web professionals have the advantage of not having to make their own strategy decisions, but more importantly, they don't have to spend the time implementing the often time-consuming SEO tasks.
As with any professional dynamic, the relationship between a law firm and its search engine specialist must be based on mutual trust. While the lawyer needs to be fully aware of the tactics, progress, and results being made by their search engine consultant, they also need to trust that the SEO knows what is needed for them to succeed and isn't doing anything that will hurt the firm's website and/or reputation.
"A change will do you (and your website) good". If you are unwilling to have optimizations made, then you simply can't have your site optimized. While link building, social media, paid-search, etc, are all key components to getting rankings online, if you want your law firm's site to perform for your targeted words, you have to be willing to make keyword and structural changes to the site itself. Change is good. Keep in mind that the goal here is not to just improve your search engine rankings, but help you increase your client base. Too many law firms (and their SEOs) lose sight of this point.
The net is a dynamic, constantly evolving, place. New sites are going up, old sites are coming down. New stuff is added to the internet every second. Combine that with the fact that search engine algorithms are in a constant state of change and you've got a roller coaster of rankings.
Several legal sites, especially older ones, are built by designers that don't know much about SEO. These sites "look pretty" but don't do so hot in search pages because of bad structure and missing components. In extreme cases, you might have to be willing to quit a site altogether. Other times the site may be salvageable with several structural and architectural modifications. Not making these changes can cripple your web marketing. Don't be afraid to make the big changes needed to take advantage the benefits SEO can have for your firm.
Unfortunately, many unscrupulous law firm SEO specialists sell magic claiming to be able to get your firm to the top of the search engine rankings in a very short time. As a result, many lawyers want immediate results and don't trust search consultants in general. They want to spend very little money and they have very high expectations.
Conrad and I recently joined Zack at Lawyerist to record a conversation about AI and marketing. You might think that we spend the whole time on how lawyers can use AI to publish content. You'd be wrong. While AI can certainly support publishing, there are many more interesting ways to use it in legal marketing. […]
As more legal services consumers turn to ChatGPT for local law firm recommendations, a fascinating intersection between AI, search, and maps unfolds. While Google remains the undisputed leader in local business data, ChatGPT is increasingly becoming an entry point for searchers seeking legal representation. But here’s the kicker: instead of keeping users within its ecosystem, […]
When law firms contact us, they usually want to talk: • PPC Ads • SEO Rankings • Lead Generation Very few want to talk: • Brand • Trust & Recognition • Emotional Connection Admittedly, much of this concerns that AttorneySync is known for lead generation across those common digital channels. But even when we start […]
According to an October 2024 study by SE Ranking: "The legal niche triggers the highest percentage of AIOs (77.67%). The average number of links matched between the AI Overview resources and the top 20 search results was 6.49 for legal topics. AI Overviews for legal topics most frequently link to NYCourts.gov (114 links), YouTube.com (48 […]
I'm grateful for my friend, Charley Mann of Law firm Alchemy. If you're a lawyer, subscribe to his Free Email List. In a recent email, Charley calls out bad guru advice on hiring: "Trying to execute a major SEO improvement? You need to find people who will help you, instead of trying to DIY it […]
If you’ve spent any time on LinkedIn, you’ve likely seen posts from law firm SEO experts showing off charts with an “up and to the right” trajectory. These screenshots, often pulled from tools like Semrush or Ahrefs, are meant to signal SEO success. And it’s not just the agencies celebrating—𝗹𝗮𝘄 𝗳𝗶𝗿𝗺𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗵𝗶𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺 […]
Meh, links! All things being equal, links still tend to move the dial more than any other factor in legal SERPs. Maybe links are having a diminishing impact internet-wide. But in my experience, quality links, especially relevant links (both topically and geographically), tend to improve law firm visibility in search more than most everything else. […]
When you think of "marketing," what's the first thing that comes to mind? Ads? SEO? Social Media? What about: Helping others?Taking the lead? Rallying around your community? Need an example? Learn from Bart Siniard at Siniard Law Injury Attorneys efforts to help rebuild Mary's Pit BBQ. These efforts aren't about marketing. They're about supporting a […]
The Beauty of Small Law Firms: Why "Small Is Beautiful" in Legal Practice As you may (or may not) have seen on LinkedIn, 𝗜'𝗺 𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗹𝗼𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝗻 𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗾𝘂𝗲 𝗳𝗶𝗿𝗺𝘀. 𝗠𝗮𝗻𝘆 𝗹𝗲𝘀𝘀, 𝗯𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗴𝗼𝗼𝗱 𝗼𝗻𝗲𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗮𝗹𝘄𝗮𝘆𝘀 𝗯𝗲 𝗮𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱. I recently received an email from a real practicing lawyer requesting the following: "Somebody on Linkedin […]
